Category Archives: Pigeons!

“A hard-core flock of about a dozen pigeons has returned to an underpass in this northwestern Ontario town, apparently undeterred by the $22,000 spent last year to keep them away.” Read the story Pigeons back in town, despite $22,000 spent in the Brandson Sun

Urban Eyes is a service combining CCTV networks and pigeons to provide an alternative view on the city. Users have to feed the pigeon with Urban Eyes bird seed. The special seed can be bought in a camera shop and contains RFID tags.read more | digg story

A short circuit caused a four-alarm fire in the Belgian town of Lovendegem Monday night. The fire began in an unoccupied garden shed. But next to the shed stood a pigeon house. Fortunately, the pigeons were saved.

According to the homeowner, “We were sitting at the table when our youngest son came to tell us that smoke was coming from our shed. At first we did not believe him.” The child persisted and the homeowners finally saw the smoke for themselves.

The family tried to put out the fire themselves by beating the flames. There were two garden hoses in the yard, but one was too short and the other was completely frozen.

Meanwhile, some flames reached the trees and shrubs around the shed. The fire threatened the nearby pigeon keep, where the innocent birds sat behind locked doors.

The homeowners continued their effort, trying to keep the flames from reaching the pigeons. Neighbors informed the fire department, who arrived with four fire trucks. Two police cars were also at the scene.

The fire department got the fire under control and the pigeons were saved. Unfortunately, the family lost all of their garden furniture and some other personal belongings.

Bird spotters in Juneau, Alaska have noticed that local pigeons are acting lethargic. Salt on the roads and sideswalks may be affecting the birds, making them suseptible to attacks by ravens. Read the whole story in The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel.

Twenty pigeons will be fitted with high-tech backpacks and set free over San Jose, California this August in order to monitor air quality. The data they collect on air pollution, including photos taken from miniature cameras, will be posted on a special “pigeon blog”.read more | digg story

The pigeon fair brought visitors from many European nations and among the dead were seven foreigners, including one person from the Netherlands. At least 140 people were injured. 91 of the injured remained in hospital as of Sunday. About 500 people were believed to be inside the building when the roof collapsed at about 5:00 p.m. local time on Saturday. It is estimated that fair attendance was as high as 4,000 people earlier in the day.

The last survivor was pulled from the wrecked building on Saturday night. By Sunday, rescuers stopped searching for survivors. The cause of the collapse is still under dispute. Local police have said that heavy snow on the roof caused it to collapse, but building officials stated that snow was removed regularly and the cause of the collapse was still unknown. Vibrations from loud music and the great difference in exterior and interior temperatures have also been named as possible causes. The exhibition hall was constructed in 2000.

Polish president Lech Kaczynski has visited the site, and declared a national period of mourning to last for three days.

At least seven sixty people were killed Saturday in Katowice, Poland when the roof of an exhibition hall collapsed. Hundreds of people were inside the building at the time of the collapse, attending the Pigeon 2006 fair organized by the Polish Association of Racing Pigeons Breeders. Read more about the roof collapse at ABC News. An updated story can be found here on CNN.

An abandoned building formerly used as a rest house by the nuns of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows convent in Beernem, Belgium, has become infested with a large population of pigeons.

At least one hundred pigeons now live in the building. The birds used to take sanctuary on the nearby city hall and in the church tower, but the city hall is under construction and the church tower has been fitted with anti-bird paraphernalia. Because their previous homes were being disturbed, the birds took up residence in quiet sanctuary of the rest house.

According to city council members, the situation is unsafe, because a pigeon can produce up to 14 kg of waste per year. Council member Lauwers also mentioned that the pigeon situation provided an increased risk factor in bird flu.

Other buildings in the West Flanders town of Beernem also have a problem with excessive bird droppings. A public square in front of the new “OCMW” building suffers from the waste of a colony of 20 doves living in a cedar tree. The mayor, Walter van Parijs, recognizes there is a problem, but acknowledges there are no easy solutions. “Shooting (the birds) is not possible in a neighborhood (where people live).” Council member Ingrid Vanhaecke offered this tongue-in-cheek solution: “Maybe the sisters can give the pigeons birth-control pills, but is that in accordance with God’s (law)?”

The Sun City Million Dollar is an international pigeon race which concludes 4 February in Sun City, South Africa. This year more than 4,000 pigeons will participate in the final leg. The pigeons have competed in training and practice races since October. The final race will be 632 kilometers. Participants come from all over the world; this year there are 74 birds from the Netherlands enrolled. Birds from Namibia, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and Sweden participate, along with birds from 22 other countries.